The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has expressed serious concern over irregularities and embezzlements committed in the purchase of substandard medicines from pharmaceutical companies for patients of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and sought record of medicines purchased during the last three years within a week. The committee met with Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood in the chair at Parliament House on Wednesday. Senators Kamil Ali Agha, Khushbakht Shujaat, Kulsoom Perveen and Haji Saifullah Khan Bangash, secretary Capital Administration and Development Division and other officials participated in the meeting.
The committee also recommended the government to regularize doctors of cardiology department of PIMS. Committee Chairman Talha Mahmood asked Director PIM Anjum Pervez to submit a detailed record of medicines purchased from pharmaceutical companies during the last three years to the committee.
Executive Director PIMS Dr Altaf told the committee during briefing that there is not any drug testing laboratory to check the standard of medicines. He said that one day he took seven Paracetamol tablets to get relief from headache but to no avail. At last he purchased the tablet from outside the hospital and got relief, he added. He said that more than 700 pharmaceutical companies have been registered for purchasing medicines.
Kamil Ali Agha said that there is a mafia in the PIMS and one person could not put the things in order. He said that many people are involved in bad practice of purchasing substandard medicines. Senator Kulsoom Perveen said that the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development should take bold steps against the irregularities and embezzlements committed in PIMS.
Director Anjum Pervez told the committee, "We fallow proper procedure for purchasing medicines." He added that there is a 7-member purchasing committee which decides and recommends medicines. Dr Altaf said that number of patients has increased by 440 percent in a year and a total of 4,000 patients are checked every day in OPD. He said that 96 percent beds, 102 percent staff and 620 percent budget of the hospital have been increased. He said that 1,100 posts have been vacant for more than five years due to ban. However, he said that a summary has been sent to the ministry for recruitments at PIMS.
He said, "There is need of three more hospitals like PIMS in Islamabad to reduce the pressure of patients on one hospital (PIMS)." He said that total budget of PIMS was Rs 4.034 billion in 2017 and out of the amount, Rs 1.42 billon were for meeting expenditures and Rs 2.62 billion were allocated for payment of salaries to paramedical staff.
The committee also recommended regularizing the contract paramedical staff of Chak Shahzad Hospital, Islamabad. The committee also sought details of revenue colleted in terms of taxes imposed on commercial and industrial plots in Islamabad and all the cases pending in the courts in this regard.
The committee also recommended the government to immediately appoint chairman of Capital Development Authority. While briefing the committee about Metro Bus Project, a member of National Highway Authority (NHA) Altamash Khan said that four phases of Metro Bus Project from Peshawar Mor to new Islamabad airport would be completed on January 31, 2018 and bus services would be started on May 18, 2018.